Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been taken into custody following an international criminal court’s issuance of an arrest warrant. The warrant pertains to his controversial “war on drugs,” a policy during his presidency marked by a aggressive anti-drug campaign. Duterte’s office confirmed his arrest on Tuesday morning at the Manilla airport, upon his return from Hong Kong. This development comes after Duterte had acknowledged the possibility of an arrest warrant being issued, expressing acceptance of his fate.
As President, Duterte came to power in 2016 on a promise to eradicate drugs in the Philippines through a ruthless, violent campaign. He once joked that the campaign would result in so many bodies being dumped in Manila Bay that the fish would grow fat from them. The campaign has been associated with the deaths of between 12,000 to 30,000 civilians, according to the ICC, most of whom were impoverished men shot in urban areas.
The ICC’s investigation into the anti-drug operations covers alleged crimes committed from November 2011 to June 2016, including extrajudicial killings in Davao City, where Duterte was mayor, and across the country during his presidency up until the Philippines’ withdrawal from the court on March 16, 2019. It is a developing story.
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/mar/11/rodrigo-duterte-arrest-manila-former-philippines-president-war-on-drugs-ntwnfb
